Customer Reviews

Bernstein: Symphonies No. 1 - Jeremiah, & No. 2 - The Age of Anxiety (Bernstein Century)

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The Jeremiah Symphony, which I heard recently played by the Baltimore Symphony under Bernstein protego Marin Allsop, is a fascinating piece. Written when Bernstein was only 26, it shows astonishing assurance and mastery of the orchestra.

Divided into three movements, in the first we hear the prophet warning the people of Judea of impending disaster using a theme familiar from the daily Jewish liturgy. The second is in many ways the best movement based on the theme of the "haftorah" cantillation -- the excerpts from the writings of the prophets chanted in synagogues every Saturday. But how inventively Bernstein uses the material!

The final movement, after the disaster, features a soprano solo singing words from the Book of Lamentations.

Listening to this work I heard echoes of the later Bernstein but also of Copeland -- it is Jewish music but also American music. Strangely, I am chanting Jeremiah himself on the second day of the Jewish New Year this month. The selection is more upbeat. The prophet hears Rachel weeping for her dead children but tells her to dry her tears, assuring her that God will bring them back to Zion and Jerusalem, dancing with joy, old and young alike.

And so it came to pass.

After winning the Pulitzer Prize for his "Jeremiah" Sym., Bernstein remained in top form as a composer throughout the late Forties and Fifties. His 'Age of Anxiety' Sym. #2 is refeshingly jazzy, and Philippe Entremont plays as if to the manner born in the long piano solos. Both of LB's other symphonies capture a specifically Jewish-Biblical significance that meant much to the composer but hasn't worn well. The Age of Anxiety is more like his Ballet Fancy Free, a comment, wry and often witty, on modern city life. It captures Auden's mournful sophistication perfectly, even if you haven't read the poem that inspired the music.

One could ask for no better recording--LB's remake on DG is a contender but not the equal of this. Playing and recording are perfect. The two humorous song cycles sung by LB's great friend Jennie Tourel are a mere fillip to a CD that's stingy on timing but a gem otherwise.

Leonard Bernstein, an American icon and perhaps the best known conductor, composer, and music teacher from the New World, may be famous for his Broadway shows such as the entertaining out-of-the-war feeling "On the Town", and the fun and at the same time brooding story of New York's star-crossed "West Side Story". Give him some time though if you only know the "American" side of the composer.

He never threw away his Jewish heritage, and this first symphony "Jeremiah" enclosed in the CD is one of the prime examples of witnessing Lenny's musician expression as a Jew.

I love this symphony because despite it's musical complexity easy enough to tell it's 20th century genre, the sheer tragic theme of this piece is strong enough to make me bow down in tears. The piece is in three movements; first tells of Jeremiah's pleading to the people, the nailbiting second the corruption done by the people, and the third the lamentation of Jeremiah to Jerusalem, "ruined, pillaged, and dishonored after his desparate efforts to save it". Ms. Jennie Tourel sang brilliantly in the movement.

The second symphony "The Age of Anxiety" is another example of Lenny's serious and musically dark and modern side of music. Based on the poem by W.H. Auden with the same name, it will take you through this spiritual and moral journey.

I was quite charmed with Lenny's two easy song cycles "I Hate Music!" and "Four Recipes". And once again, kudos to Ms. Tourel. Just take a listen and you'll feel like you're a little innocent child again. The songs are as elementary and bright as a Mother Goose rhyme.

There is a healthy resurgence of performances of the works of Leonard Bernstein, especially by the younger conductors who seem to be discovering his value afresh. But to be reminded of the impact of these works it is informative to return to the recoded performances by the composer himself. This re-issue by Sony gives us fine performances of the first two symphonies - the first symphony titled Jeremiah is a youthful work composed when he as 24 years of age. The initial spark for the work was a work called 'Lamentations' for voice and orchestra and that work, polished and revised, became the final (and most moving) movement in his symphony. The mezzo soprano role is performed here by Bernstein's long time friend Jennie Tourel (subsequent recordings placed Christa Ludwig in the role) and for some years it was felt that the symphony's success rested on the quality of the mezzo role: performances were scarce as not only is the role dramatic but it is sung in Hebrew and few artists were fond of tackling it. It is of great pleasure to realize that there is a new mezzo-soprano who has taken this role seriously - the very beautiful and enormously gifted Kelley O'Connor is currently singing the role with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and will tour the work with the orchestra throughout Europe.

The Symphony #2 or The Age of Anxiety is also seeing a similar return to the stages of orchestra seasons. Here Bernstein conducts the 'piano concerto' symphony with Phillipe Entremont and it would be difficult to match the quality of this recorded performance, though Bernstein's own piano version and that of Hamelin are quite fine. The remained of this recoding is devoted to pastiche songs in which Bernstein and Tourel seem to be having a great time with the fluff. Grady Harp, January 11

Leonard Bernstein can sometimes be seen as a celebrity amongst casual classical listeners which is due in large part to his conducting career, but a deeper look into this very influential and passionate personality lies a man of strong musical integrity. Yes, he composed "Westside Story" and went on to write "Candide," which were both successful, but he composed serious music as well. This particular side of his composing seems to be overshadowed by the more energetic, danceable music that made him famous as a composer. I think with "Symphony No. 1" titled "Jeremiah," Bernstein silenced all notions that he was merely a composer after popular appeal.

The other symphony on this disc is "Symphony No. 2 - The Age of Anxiety," which, if anything, is a concertante work much like Szymanowski's "Symphony No. 4" is a concertante work, but let's not get too concerned with what the work actually is and let me just say this work will blow your socks off! I would say both "Symphony Nos. 1 & 2" are two of Bernstein's strongest works as far as being a serious composer is concerned. Another Bernstein work (not represented on this recording) that is gaining repertoire status as of late is "Serenade," which is essentially a violin concerto and has been performed by many big names in classical music: Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Itzhak Perlman, Anne-Sophie Mutter to name a few.

It's hard to pinpoint what this music sounds like, because there are so many strains of his influences that rear their head here and there. At one point I hear Mahler and another I hear Gershwin. I think Bernstein, much like composers Poulenc, Ravel, or even his hero Mahler, was ingenious in the way he combined serious music with lighter, more low cultured music. He seemed to have this very contradictory sound-world meld into one.

The performances themselves are nothing less than spectacular. Bernstein, as usual, is on fire and the NY Philharmonic give this music their all. The remastered sound quality is also quite good. In comparison to his later recordings of these two symphonies, I prefer these earlier performances for their sheer energy.

If you're at all interested in hearing Bernstein outside of the more popular works, then this disc would be one to checkout. Also checkout the afore mentioned "Serenade," but also "Chichester Psalms" and the controversial "Mass," which still seems to raise a few eyebrows with it's mix of religious choral overtones, ritualistic musings, and Broadway glitz and glamour.

This disk is one of the best disks I've ever heard, and the best disk of Bernstein that I've ever heard. Bernstein's symphonies are very good, and it's very easy to listen to them (unlike other 20th century creations). This performance is very exciting and thrilling.

....or On the Town or Candide or any other famous broadway/operettas you've heard from it. But it's not bad. Bernstein has a completely different approach to his symphonic works then from his others you know of. I really felt the music in the first symphony, Jeremiah, fit the Lamentations chapter of the bible and the soprano in the final movement only added to the passion. Age of Anxiety was in an awkward format for a symphony, and seemed to be more of a piano concerto/work then a symphony. If I hated music, I would still hate it after hearing Bernstein's I Hate Music. These are just a few 'ditties' he drew up for children which very in style and speed. La Bonne Cuisine was funny (and fast), but you have to follow along in the book to get the humor because the soprano sings so fast. Recording was great. None of this music really stands out among my collection, but it's is still good music.

I agree with zmusicman in regard to THE AGE OF ANXIETY. Regarding the 2-clarinet PROLOGUE: it took me a while to realize that it's actually an organ tune transcribed for clarinets. Very clever. But THE EPILOGUE is pretty corny & derivative. It's an obvious variation on the first motif that you hear in Copland's THIRD SYMPHONY. Philippe Entremont's pianism is right up there with Bud Powell's. My favorite passage is that brief high-register glockenspiel thingy in THE MASQUE. I think it's done twice. Lenny was writing psychedelia way back in 1949.